Warning to B&b Owners potentially dangerous guest

[PEPSI & SHIRLEY]

Please be wary of a single american gentleman ( aged early 50s) requesting a stay at your bed and breakfast this month

This individual has just left our Bed and Breakfast and I now believe him to be in Caen, Normandy Landing Beaches Area.

He is planning to stay in France until mid July so he could be visiting lots of other regions.

He stayed with us for a number of days and he was an unusual charecter to say the least.

he told us he has been travelling the world for years and has no 'fixed' address

we put his odd behaviour down to living alone for many years

he certainly made our other guests feel uncomfortable and we werent sorry when he checked on 2 days early with 2 minutes notice!

However he paid us in full and thanked us for a wonderful stay.

HOWEVER on cleaning his room the following day I discovered that he had defocated in the shower and soiled our bath towels

we cannot comprehend how anyone could act in this way as despite his strange behaviour we very accomadating- offering late breakfast use of our bikes a lift from thr train station etc.

on leaving he had misplaced his glasses case and when I offered to check his room for him he replied

' no dont worry - it isnt a vacation unless you leave something behind'

just writing this posting is making me feel nausious and I feel our home has been violated

We have never experienced anything like this and obviously feel we need to warn other band b owners in case this isnt an isolated incident

[Quillan]

As I said in another post based on a couple of experiences when we first started way back when, never let a guest leave until you have checked the room, the bedding etc. It's hard to do anything once they are out of your gate. Other than that I feel sorry for you, we have been in a similar 'place'. It's a hard lesson to learn but check next time.

[PEPSI & SHIRLEY]

thanks for the tip

sadly I dont think this could have been avoided as he was hitching a lift with some other guests and announced his departure with no notice just as i about to take my young children to school!

as my husband had already left for work i was on my own and even if I had discovered it before he left i dont think i could have challenged him with my chidren around!

[Quillan]

A useful tool but discovered by accident is electric gates. I bought a set because of the dog and I am too lazy to keep getting out of the car to open and close them. The guests have a key but I have a zapper, the key is with the room keys so when they leave (well in theory unless they nick the keys) I have to open the gate so I determine in a way when they leave. That gives me or Mrs Q time to check the room. After a few past problems we now know exactly where to look.

If your talking about the 'school run' you could say you don't allow departures during such and such time because of the kids, doing this the right way will not cause offence and most people, unless catching a flight are quite happy.

Anyway its a hard lesson to learn and beware there will be others doing something or another, red wine on the sheets with the duvet hiding it, being sick in bed or all down the wall cause they 'missed' etc. Unfortunately not everyone is 'nice' and like any profession you need to keep your whits about you. The positive side is that I have never done this before coming from a 'profession' that's totally different. We have truly wonderful times with our guests and gain a lot of satisfaction.

[Quillan]

I forgot, another tip is to give the guest the bill at breakfast the day before they leave, gives them plenty of time to sort it out and you can take payment the night before they leave. Saves loads of mucking around when they actually go.

[Catalpa]

[quote user="Quillan"]Anyway its a hard lesson to learn and beware there will be others doing something or another, red wine on the sheets with the duvet hiding it, being sick in bed or all down the wall cause they 'missed' etc. [/quote]

On the presumably rare occasion you discover (before they leave) that someone has caused damage or extra cleaning work, do you bill them? Do they pay? It being a chambre d'hôte,  you won't have a damage deposit already available from which to make a deduction.

Sorry to hear of your experience Shirley and Pepsi - when you've had a few more pleasant clients to over-write the memory of this oddity's behaviour, I hope you won't feel as bad. 

[Quillan]

Well strangely the electric gates sort of help. They know we have to let them out and they don't know if we will or will not check the room before we do. We have only had 2 such 'events' since, in one case they told us they had an 'accident' and for their honesty we told them not to worry, these things happen. The other instance we told them that something was damaged, a light fitting, and they offered to pay for it without question and we took the money. If they had come to us and told us I wouldn't have bothered asking for money.

It's all about honesty really, most people would be up front and say something, we all know accidents can happen so its not a problem. Those that try to 'sneek' out without a word are those I get annoyed with and make pay (only the value of the goods or service). I am not sure what I would have done if I were the OP and found this before the guy went. I would probably ask him to clean it up and rinse the towels. If he refused I guess I would tell him OK fair enough I'll phone the police, not that they would do anything but he wouldn't probably know that. I certainly would do the same as the OP and let people know about him and his 'habits'.

[Gardian]

Horrible.

The only thing that I can say is that in 40 yrs of working life (happily now retired & not in your line of business), I can only recall 2 instances of similarly disgusting behaviour. I guess that in the CdH / gite trade, it's something that you have to occasionally expect.

It just strikes me that this cretin could turn up literally anywhere, so beware of lone Americans !!  Hardly typical though, eh?    

[water rat]

I just wish people would say something. It can be a bit of a shock when one is'nt prepared . I went into a room after guests vacated and it looked like a lot of blood had been mopped up using our towels! It turned out to be red bean salad. It was still pretty unpleasant to clean up ,but would have been easier if I'd been forewarned. Please, those of you who visit us ,say something if you have an accident.

[Quillan]

[quote user="water rat"]I just wish people would say something. It can be a bit of a shock when one is'nt prepared . I went into a room after guests vacated and it looked like a lot of blood had been mopped up using our towels! It turned out to be red bean salad. It was still pretty unpleasant to clean up ,but would have been easier if I'd been forewarned. Please, those of you who visit us ,say something if you have an accident.[/quote]

Exactly, every one has accidents at some time or another, its no big thing and working in this business we know that. As you point out cleaning up is not such a problem if you know what it is. We have a whole bunch of chemicals etc for getting marks of sheets and other things but you need to know what the right one is for the stain your trying to remove.

[NormanH]

While having to clean up someone who has done this in the shower is unpleasant I don't see that it comes into the category of 'dangerous' behaviour.

It was the shower, not on a carpet on bed, and he may have a medical problem.

As for not saying anything it would be extremely embarassing to be in his position.

In short, while I sympathise with you for the unpleasanf consequences, I feel that the facts don't quite justify the dramatic interpretation.

He paid, and seems to have been polite.

[Catalpa]

[quote user="NormanH"]It was the shower, not on a carpet on bed, and he may have a medical problem.

As for not saying anything it would be extremely embarassing to be in his position. [/quote]

The OP said nothing about blindness - or any other diability - that would suggest the perpetrator was unable to apply lavatory paper to inappropriately deposited faeces and dispose of in the lavatory. An ability to see both sides of an situation is always lovely but I think surmising about this guest's possible health problems (other than mental) which led him to deposit and leave fecal matter in the shower is a bit of a stretch... or a windup.

[Gardener]

Perhaps I read more into the it's not a holiday unless you leave something behind line than was there, but if he had a medical condition whereby he couldn't help defaecating in the shower, what excuse could he have for not washing it away? I wouldn't want him as a house guest.

[Chancer]

I am with Norm here, it may have been an accident which would also explain his rush to leave, as for why he didnt clear it up? - Well it stunk!

Seriously like Norman I see nothing to suggest that this gentleman is potentially dangerous.

The doasyoulikies of this world make a habit of leaving a boihazard as a leaving present whenever they rent somewhere, in the middle of the carpet or if you had tiled or parquet it would be in the bed which would then be neatly made up, never in somewhere as easy to clean as a shower.

[NormanH]

Obviously none of you have had rectal cancer, nor the surgery that  can leave a previously normal  person incontinent .

But nobody has explained the judgement that he is 'dangerous'.

Please give an example of a single thing that deserves that word..

[Gemonimo]

Even if this man has a serious medical condition, in my opinion, a normal person CLEANS UP BEHIND HIMSELF in case of an accident. I don't think he's dangerous... just loopydoops.

[NormanH]

of course..

I come back to the word  'dangerous'

Where is the evidence....,?

[Richard51]

Could have been worse - at least it was only in the shower and on towels.  Some of the kids our family fostered smeared it all over the walls and furniture....[blink]

Mrs R51

[Gardengirl]

We had a little kitchen at a school I taught at for many years, where small groups of children did cooking with parents or teaching assistants. It was kept locked at all other times, and the key was with others in a special cupboard. One day plate was discovered in the fridge with a neat little pile on it .................................

It only ever happened once, and the Head kept it on his desk for a few hours, amazed at this new event; such offerings were found from time to time, but in more 'normal' place, sometimes smeared, as Richard mentions. All staff and selected others went to inspect it during the time it was in the office. At first it had been thought to be plastic, one of those joke affairs. It wasn't!

[mint]

GG, I find your description utterly disgusting!

I shall now never ever regret (as I am wont to do sometimes) not finishing my PGCE.[:D]